Yeah, Eren, you got this. Just be really angry, and I'm sure you'll be able to kill him. (Image Courtesy of: twitchfilm.com)

Often it takes a while for an anime to gain popularity particularly outside of Japan due to a variety of cultural reasons as well as the very nature of all television. That makes Attack on Titan a rare beast. Based on the manga from Hajime Isayama first published in 2009, the first (only so far) season of the anime aired in 2013.

Despite the recent nature and the anime's struggle to get a second season made, the anime has become rampantly successful and popular all over the world. Its dystopian world and brutal action makes it stand out among the pack particularly due to its intriguing lore.

I was drawn to the series by its concept. Dystopias are always intriguing in their own way though none had gotten close to the ideas raised quickly in Attack on Titan. It was as much a horror story as action or thriller with a threat enormous in size and indomitable in power.

From the first episode, I was hooked, wanting to know more about the world and the people who face just terror at every turn. Even as someone who is often less than inclined to the horror genre, I felt a thrill and fear that was hard to ignore.

Synopsis

Over a century ago, humanity was nearly wiped out by the sudden appearance of a monstrous force of beings known as the Titans. What few human beings survived the slaughter gathered inside a fortress of three concentric walls, large enough and strong enough to keep the Titans at bay.

One day, an enormous Titan emerges and breaches the outer wall, allowing other Titans to come pouring in. Among those affected by this new massacre are Eren Yeager, his foster sister Mikasa Ackerman, and his childhood friend Armin Arlert whose must watch and flee as their homes and families are eaten.

The three all enlist in the military to help fight back the Titans and regain the land they lost. They learn the only way to fight Titans and meet many friends and fellow soldiers who must fight and likely all die in the conflict to save the last bastions of humanity.

For some reason, this show is focused on Eren when Mikasa is better than Eren in every way including being just straight up cooler. (Image Courtesy of: moviepilot.com)

Story Arc Analysis

***This section is the only spoiler section of the review. For those who have already watched Attack on Titan, please read on, but any reader who is looking for a reason to watch AoT for the first should skip this section until you have seen the series to avoid any spoilers.***

Covering Attack on Titan's first season is an exploration of only 25 episodes in total, so the idea of a story arc is far more narrow than in most other anime. However, the series is also very clear in its distinctions of the stories it is telling, so the separations between a collection of episodes are very clear cut.

The Fall of Shiganshina and Humanity's Comeback (Episodes 1-4):AoT does not take long to introduce the brutality and darkness of its world. The first two episodes are just about as brutal as anime can get as not only does a large percentage of the human population get whipped out, but the audience is privy to the horrors of Eren and Mikasa as they watch their mother get eaten.

What is most transparent from the opening act is just how terrifying these Titans are. They are new age giants, come to pillage and eat the small and weak, and they do with grotesque, distorted human-like smiles on their faces. They are also shown to be simply indomitable.

This section also focuses on the training of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin as they meet the people they will be fighting with. There's some odd comic relief in the mix here as well as some solid if a bit cliche character bits of Eren going from determined to truly skilled and finding anyone who doesn't want to fight on the front lines to be cowards.

The Struggle for Trost (Episodes 5-13): The fifth episode may be the most poetically brutal episode of the season. After all that came before, after all the training that made Eren and his friends top recruits, they go to war, and they lose in a slaughter. Those who don't get eaten from the first round go running, just trying to survive.

The most impressive opening moment is Eren, the supposed protagonist, flailing in anger, losing an arm and leg, then getting swallowed. That is not the end for him, but it takes the series several episodes to reveal that, spending time with other characters including revealing the tragic backstory of Mikasa and the attempts of the others to just survive.

The fight ultimately turns with the help of Eren becoming a Titan and helping the humans turn the tide to seal away the Titans with the support of the newly revealed Scout Division including the intriguing Captain Levi. A lot goes down in these episodes though with strange pacing issues.

The episodes show both how Eren had become a powerful asset and a dangerous threat with the military unsure how to address him. The problem with all of this is its more social commentary than character development as Eren is done to rather than acting of his own accord.

This section is effective in its brutality even when the humans manage to win, looking over the enormous body count, but it certainly has its issues where the show reveals early signs of an inclination toward talking and issue development rather than action which makes sense given that most fights with the Titans seem to go one way or the other rather quickly.

Eve of the Counterattack and The 57th Exterior Scouting Mission (Episodes 14-22): Here begins the mythology development of the series. Quickly the show goes from Eren being the only human Titan to seemingly one of multiple though all of whom have identities shrouded in mystery. Eren is made out to be a symbol of something and isolated by his transformation.

Though not for long as he is assigned to Levi's Scout Regiment and sent out on an expedition where the season's main villain is revealed: the Female Titan, a fast lethal Titan who seems far more intelligent than the Titans previously shown. Her introduction is perfect in its brutality and eye catching merit.

However, this section feels a bit like it is struggling to find a consistent pace. The time that passes is hard to follow as the characters go through some truly brutal moments over a large period of time. In the episodes, the Female Titan manages to kill much of the force, get captured, reveal herself to actually be human, eats Eren, and is ultimately barely defeated.

All the while, we are given glimpses of the politics in the mix as the Scouting Regiment return to ridicule and disdain in their failure and loss. It is all intriguing but move at a pace that makes the reveals around human Titans and the Female Titan in particular hard to track.

Assault on Stohess (Episodes 23-25): I found myself a bit disconnected by the time the reveal came of the Female Titan's true identity, making the surprise a bit hollow though effective. Annie was an underdeveloped character in many respects, and the reveal made her more fascinating though even more confounding.

It will take much more time to give a full scope of Annie as a character and as the Female Titan. These last three episodes feel a bit jumbled and overlong, but the final episode fight is really strong. It is hard to believe though that the Female Titan, who was built up as such a force in previous episodes, could lose to Eren so quickly.

What these final episodes do is create a climax, but they don't solve much. Instead we get more complications to a season that just kept throwing in more. The end result is an adrenaline ride of sorts though one tempered by a lot of exposition that throws in many more questions on top of just one answer.

The Movies: It should be noted that there are two theatrical films for Attack on Titan which are simply abbreviated versions of the anime. The show is already moving at a wild and unwieldy pace with 600 minutes of anime. Condensing that into 240 minutes was pure madness.

There are also two live action films based on the anime. Given that there are basically no live action films based on anime that have ever been good, I don't really need to comment on the quality here. However, I have heard that the live action films are not only laughably bad but also stomp on the source material, so I wouldn't suggest them even to die hard fans.

You can call them whatever you want, Japan, but I know you've just tricked me into watching another giant robot fighting anime. (Image Courtesy of: classicalite.com)

Impact and Art Style

Attack on Titan is brutal and affecting, but it is also written and developed in a way that doesn't always match its ambition. The pacing is wonky, sometimes rapidly moving past story development to hit action bits then plodding along through overlong talking scenes.

The characters are a mixed bag with their motivations often feeling rather limited. Eren's rage is much too pronounced while Mikasa is far more complex but sidelined in the larger story. Characters that come into the story late in this season are the ones with the most depth though also the ones who are least likable.

What likely makes the series so popular is its mysteries and ideology which promotes a brutal and often dominantly dark world where reveals come most often with tragedy and complication. It is likely possible that the series as a whole will grip far more tightly beyond just one season (if it is ever completed), but this first season is far more convoluted with that mystery than it needs to be.

AoT has one of the most unique and effective art styles I've had the pleasure of watching in an anime. The gothic horror of the anime works most often because of that art. The Titans in particular are frightening and uniquely grotesque with nightmarish faces.

The characters are drawn as both emotive and realistic with unique looks for all the characters that make them stand out often more than their personalities. Isayama's work is impeccable and unique which is rare with anime. The animation style also is strong which makes the action stand out.

Sub vs. Dub

When I first watched Attack on Titan, I wasn't even aware if there was a dub, so I saw it first with subtitles which is rare for me. It only made the difference more jarring when I did watch the anime with English dubbing. The difference here is so significant that the question is almost laughable.

The main issues you will find off the bat with the dub of Attack on Titan is the terrible voice work by Bryce Papenbrooke (Blue Exorcist) as Eren who just seems miscast. The other notable issue is the change to the sound of the Titans who sound much less frightening in the dub.

In fact, the original Japanese track packs in so much emotion that it makes the English track seem almost laughable as the voice actors try to keep up. While most dubs are at least solid enough, the difference in viewing experience from the sub to dub is so massive that I cannot even possibly recommend watching with the dubs.

Recommendation: Sub

I cannot comment upon the quality of Attack on Titan: Junior High other than to say it does exist. (Image Courtesy of: youtube.com)

Conclusion

I was engrossed and entranced by Attack on Titan at first. It is so massive and ambitious while also being beautiful to behold with a unique art style. Anime like this is why anime is such a delightful medium. However, Attack on Titan as an anime is far from perfect.

The opening act of the series got me completely invested, but I found myself losing focus as the series progressed. The early carnage and destruction lost some of its impact with the growth and development of the series' mythos which often became confounding.

Certainly there is a grand story being told, but a lack of the entire picture makes the final act of the season feel confused. The brutality can also wear thin with time particularly for someone like me whose stomach could bear so much people eating before I had to step back.

It is possible I am not totally the target audience of Attack on Titan given my own predisposition toward horror and obtuse violence, but I was transfixed by AoT at first. There was a near perfection to the opening episode that could not be ignored. I just found the story losing that steadfast control of its story as the season rolled on.

Even though I wanted to know so much more, finding out more in the series often made me feel less invested while other answers alongside twists and turns were more confusing than anything. All the while, the answers mixed with the action were paced in such a way that just became hard to follow. While Attack on Titan's first season is good, I expected greatness and left feeling just a bit underwhelmed.